The cost of the government's flagship youth programme National Citizen Service (NCS) cannot be justified, the education select committee has concluded.

In its report into youth services the committee said it could not give its backing to the programme in its current form given the costs involved and the degree to which youth services across the country are being cut.

The analysis of the programme by the committee compared the NCS scheme with a similar model provided by the German government. While NCS costs around £1,182 per young person for a six-week stint, the German equivalent cost £1,228 per young person for a whole year’s work-based volunteering.